Cleaning Cooking and Shopping Hacks for Pesach

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Forum -> Yom Tov / Holidays -> Pesach

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amother

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 8:32 pm

I'll share mine. I already posted in another thread but then realized it deserves a thread of its own.

Feel free to add yours.

amother

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 8:33 pm

So for cleaning here's my number one tip.

I start with the floors. Ground up. Like construction.

I get that out of the way and then everything is eaiser.

amother

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 8:36 pm

I don't have many hacks for shopping.
Only a hacking headache.

amother

Orchid

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 9:25 pm

Make a menu for the entire pesach
Make a shopping list for that menu
Print out recipes and keep them from year to year
Make simple food
Check every item if you get deliveries. The people who fill the orders don't care if everything is kosher l'pesach even if you specify in your order.

ra_mom

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 9:27 pm

Pesach cleaning hack:

Do a deep clean of the oven and freezer. Yes now, right after Purim. I can't tell you how much easier, and less stressful it is to clean the oven and fridge before pesach, when you've recently just done it. Make sure to leave a cookie sheet on the bottom oven rack to catch drips, and to line the freezer with something easy like plastic liners to catch crumbs in the meantime.

While cleaning the freezer now, take stock of freezer and pantry. Make menus with plans on how to use up the food.

imasinger

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 9:28 pm

Make a schedule for what you will get done when. If it's a little every day, it's not so overwhelming.

amother

Snapdragon

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 9:38 pm

Lists, Lists, Lists!!!

Start with interiors, kitchen and Halacha first.
Whatever else you get to, Hakol Revach...

Shop now, before stores become a madness rush.

BH Yom Yom

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 10:39 pm

Someone posted on here last year and it was so helpful:

When starting to cook for Pesach, peel and chop a bunch of onions. Put them in a pot with oil and salt and let them sauté/brown. When cool, put in a container and refrigerate. They will last through the whole Pesach and can save you hours of cutting and peeling and sautéing onions endlessly throughout YT.

amother

Lime

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 10:47 pm

Cooking: variety is not your friend
Stick to basics and repeat

mommy9

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 10:52 pm

There is a thread called yom tov in less than 10 minutes. I made an overnight roast recipe from there for purim and I am so excited to do it for pesach. It will free up hours of oven time during the day. Also use foil roasting pans.

amother

Jetblack

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 11:10 pm

I bake all my roasts overnite at the same time. Some together in the same sauce, onion, wine salt and pepper. Other with onions, wine and orange juice and an apple. You can add some carrots, parsley if you’d like. I put them all into the oven late at night before I go to bed around 12 on 300 and then my husband turns off the oven about 6-7 o’clock and opens the door for them to cool until I wake up.
I refrigerate them, sauce separate. And then slice when cooled. Some sauce I leave with pieces whole and some I blend.
I also make my compote and applesauce in a big pan in the oven. Tons of apples (you can put in some pears if you like). Options: cinnamon, lemon, grape juice, sugar, raspberry syrup. You can leave piecy or blend and I usually do half and half for variety.
I always make lots of sautéed onions to have. I use it in almost everything.

boysrus

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 11:32 pm

mommy9 wrote:

I cant find this. If anyone finds the above mentioned thread, can you please post a link to it here? thanks

amother

Peach

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 11:34 pm

boysrus wrote:

I cant find this. If anyone finds the above mentioned thread, can you please post a link to it here? thanks

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....41503

I have a bunch of recipes on that thread, but not many Pesach recipes.

amother

Ghostwhite

Wed, Mar 08 2023, 11:50 pm

Some things that work for me:

Every year after Pesach I write notes. I write down how much we bought, if it was enough or too much, what we need to remember for next year, which foods were successful and which ones were not. I take my notes out the next year and I use it to shop and cook. Otherwise I wouldn’t remember. I just looked at my notes from last year, and apparently we ate lots and lots of apples and hardly any melons. So this year I’ll know we need more apples.

Also, I divide the cooking in a few days, I don’t have a lot of time because I don’t have a Pesach kitchen. So one day I cook all the mains. I use a convection oven, a crockpot and my hot plate. I put two pans with 2 different meats on the hot plate and pour sauce or spices over it. On a different day I cook soups, also on the hot plate in pans. I cut up vegetables and cook 2 soups at a time. Side dishes usually take me the longest so I’ll cook it on the day I have the most time. I also designate one day for extras I want to prepare.

boysrus

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 12:05 am

amother Peach wrote:

https://www.imamother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=441503

I have a bunch of recipes on that thread, but not many Pesach recipes.

thanks!

amother

Chestnut

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 12:14 am

I use my oven tons
Dice a lot of onions into baking pans and pour oil over it and bake on low overnight and you have fried onions for all recipes
I make applesauce in deep 9x13 in oven overnight also. I do from apples and pears 4 pans in total over one night.
We only drink fresh squeezed juice so I started doing that outside in my backyard so I don’t have a huge sticky mess inside.

amother

Peach

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 1:48 am

Three Fave Tips by amother

CLEANING:

1. Separate your cleaning into three categories, (1) Pesach cleaning I.e. getting rid of chometz, (2) Yom Tov cleaning I.e. the house should look nice for Y"T, and (3) spring cleaning. Only the first category is necessary, the second is preferable and the third is a nice bonus. Prioritize your time appropriately.

2. If it has a door that can close, and you can survive without it for a week, lock it up and sell it for Pesach instead of cleaning it. For me this includes many closets, all cabinets, and the garage.

3. Turn on happy music. Makes it more fun and reminds you why you're doing it altogether!

COOKING:

1. Assembly line things. First batch peel all of the fruits and veggies you'll need for today's cooking, then chop/dice/slice them and put them into separate bowls, and finally move on to the actual cooking. With the volume most of us cook on Pesach, this can be a significant time benefit.

2. When cooking, think "what can I make with these ingredients?" not "how can I substitute for ___?" Your food will be more delicious since you won't be comparing it the whole time, and easier (since the substitutes are often very complicated and time-consuming).

3. Have ingredients ready: When you buy your meat, promptly "process" it. Put raw chicken pieces in labeled pan, to put something on top of and bake later. Make bags of chicken and bones for soup. Shape the meatballs and freeze them too. This compensates somewhat for not having many other ingredients.

SHOPPING:

1. Some stores allow website orders even during Nisan. It's worth driving to those stores!

2. Make your menu first, and your shopping lists second. Buy what you're planning on actually cooking.

3. Put yourself on the top of the list, right up there with matzah. Buy KLP chocolate for cleaning motivation, a new piece of clothing or jewelry to look forward to on Pesach, a new cooking tool to dread the kitchen less, and reading material for Yom Tov.

amother

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 3:30 am

This was meant to be a joke thread but I am so happy to see its becoming a really helpful thread.

Hey I can use all these tips also!

Thanks

(I just hope no one thinks its a good idea to start with your floors! I mean, you could. Just start again every day. Wink

)

amother

Obsidian

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 6:55 am

mommy9 wrote:

Can you link that thread?

amother

Buttercup

Thu, Mar 09 2023, 7:02 am

Make menus and shopping lists on your computer and save year to year.
If you have guests who options you care about (in laws etc) send it ahead and tell them you'll take any requests till Rosh chodesh Nissan and then the menu and shopping lists are locked.

If you have multiple freezers and pantry spaces, clean out early and consolidate into 1 of each so you know what chometz you have to use up while you still have time to use them.

If you have adult guests like children coming, feel free to assign them errands like going to pick up the matzah or meat order in those days before pesach. That DIL who is scared of your kitchen can get the job of running daycamp for all the grandchildren so the rest of the middle generation can help you.

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